| Harsh sentences handed down to abalone smugglers | |
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| Date Published: | 2016/09/09 |
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Media Statement from Western Cape Media Centre Western Cape: This morning harsh sentences were handed down to two Chinese nationals, Han Ran and Zhao Huirm when they were each sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and fined R 500 000 in the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes court for smuggling with abalone and for cultivating dagga earlier this year. Ran and Huirm aged 31 and 35 respectively were both arrested on Monday 2016-04-19 when SAPS members assisted by the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries responded to information of alleged illegal activity on a small holding on the outskirts of Langebaan where they uncovered an illegal abalone processing facility. Various rooms were found inside the building, including a cooking area, drying rooms, a sorting room and living quarters. Numerous items of equipment used in the cooking and drying process were recovered which included large steel cooking pots, gas burners and cylinders, scales of different sizes, fans, drying shelves and temperature meters. 37 936 units of dried abalone and five units of wet shucked abalone were confiscated during the arrest. Upon further investigation the members also found another three rooms that were being equipped as hydroponic laboratories. Various lights, reflectors, fans and other items of equipment were seized. At the rear of the building a hothouse was found in which various dagga plants were growing. We are pleased with the outcome of this case and regard the sentences as a deterrent for poachers of our marine resources. Media enquiries: Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut – 0833001752 wcmedia@saps.org.za
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